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September 11 should not be turned into a day to celebrate volunteerism or service or American charity. Though these values are profound, important, and an expression of much of what makes our nation great, they are not why we remember September 11.

We remember the evil acts committed on September 11, 2001 in order to remind us that there is evil in the world.

We remember these evil acts so that we will have the strength to fight that evil, with every fiber of our being.

We remember those who died in order to prevent future attacks and further deaths.

We remember so that no one can ever try to make believe these events did not happen.

We remember so that no one can spread the lie that the perpetrators were something other than what they were: Men who had decided to kill in the name of Islam, based on what they believed their religion taught them.

And finally, and most important, we remember the horrible events of September 11, 2001 so that those innocent murdered souls — whose only crime that day was going to work — will not have died in vain.

6 comments

What a difference twelve years have made. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, our president, George W. Bush, acted with dignity and determination. He left no doubt that this country would react with deadly force against its enemies. That is what happened. In short order our forces invaded Afghanistan and cleared out al Qaeda’s bastions. A year and a half later, with the approval of Congress and the United Nations, U.S. forces invaded Iraq, quickly removed Saddam Hussein and allowed the Iraqis to ratify a constitution of their own.

Today, we have Barack Hussein Obama, a pitiful excuse for a president who has dithered and blustered on the world stage to the point where he can be outsmarted and upstaged by a former KGB operative and the vicious son of a vicious dictator. There is not a single country in the world with whom our relations have improved since he took office, not a single enemy that fears us, and not a single ally that trusts us — certainly no one that fears or trusts our resolve.

It will take a generation to restore the United States to its rightful position as the world’s last, best hope.

Remembering as you’ve laid it out means we must be vigilant on tolerating crimes in the name of radical religion. That said, these maniacs who caused the deaths of thousands of Americans in an inferno of jet fuel and exploding buildings are simply criminals. May their names be forgotten except in the bottom levels of Hell.

We must also endeavor to counter speech which tolerates the crimes committed. It is by radical religious speech which endorses violence that these criminals were encouraged. We need to shift the debate to the radical Islamic world to get reform of that thinking and criminal action, otherwise, we’ll continue to need to use the armed forces to protect us through violence.

Oddly, you left out the part about how, on October 11, 2000, during the second Presidential debate, Bush called for an end to the profiling of Muslims at airports. In the wake of Bush’s election that that policy was implemented, with spectacular results.

If we were a serious country, somebody somewhere would point out that the easiest way to fight this kind of terrorism is simply to quit stamping Muslim visas. But we are not a serious country.

“We remember the evil acts committed on September 11, 2001 in order to remind us that there is evil in the world.”

Yes, we remember that there is evil in the world, however “evil” can be a function of perspective. What is “evil” to one may be the exercise of agenda to another.

“We remember these evil acts so that we will have the strength to fight that evil, with every fiber of our being.”

Yes, to fight that “evil” with every fiber of our being as a function of agenda in order to maintain power. Its all about power, someone must control power. If I have to choose who controls power I choose America and its Constitution, as imperfect as it is. But there is a cost, sometimes a steep cost.

“We remember those who died in order to prevent future attacks and further deaths.”

Yes, we remember those poor unsuspecting and innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, run like hell!

“We remember so that no one can ever try to make believe these events did not happen.”

Yes, these events happened. No doubt about that.

“We remember so that no one can spread the lie that the perpetrators were something other than what they were: Men who had decided to kill in the name of Islam, based on what they believed their religion taught them.”

Yes, mantra, believe. A thread of truth serves its purpose. I have no problem believing from what I understand that Islam is counter to our foundation beliefs and that there are radicals in that “religion” that are committed to our destruction. No problem at all, its in the hand book.

“And finally, and most important, we remember the horrible events of September 11, 2001 so that those innocent murdered souls — whose only crime that day was going to work — will not have died in vain.”

Yes, you have had your lives taken from you in horrible, unbelievable and unimaginable events. You have not died in vain, I remember you, I knew some of you, I know your brothers and your sisters, your mothers, fathers and children.

Americans honor you by looking deep into the hearts and motivations of your fellow man and by forcing ourselves to understand and become enlightened without the burden of bias or preconceived notions. We remember you.
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“Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America’s quest for the moon… Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America’s greatest human triumphs.”
–San Antonio Express-News